The Mississippi State Bulldogs won a decent amount of games a year ago, but proved they were not ready to consistently compete with the big boys in the SEC. Coach Joe Moorhad believes his team can take the next step forward in 2019, but there are questions about that with an offense that could have issues passing the ball. Mississippi State may be able to grind out some victories this season, but as the current college football odds will attest, the ceiling for this team may not be super high.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Mississippi State regular season win total
o8 +115
u8 -140
Mississippi State Win Total Odds Analysis
The Bulldogs won eight regular season games a year ago as their defense was one of the best units in college football. The oddsmakers have put their projected win total in the same spot for 2019. The “under” is the current betting favorite at -140 while the “over” can be had at +115 odds.
Mississippi State opens up the season with games against Louisiana and Southern Miss, followed by their hardest non-conference matchup with Kansas State. The Bulldogs then enter their tough SEC schedule. It starts with Kentucky at home, followed by road games at Auburn and Tennessee. Mississippi State next welcomes LSU to town and then goes to play at Texas A&M and Arkansas. The Bulldogs finish up with three straight home games against Alabama, Abilene Christian and Ole Miss.
There are some serious national championship contenders on the schedule, and Mississippi State will be hard-pressed to beat teams like Alabama and LSU. However, if the Bulldogs can hold their own against everybody else, they will have a shot at getting to eight or nine wins, which would be an impressive season.
Mississippi State Odds
Mississippi State only allowed an average of 13.2 points per game last season but lost four contests because their offense couldn’t compete against the SEC powers. The Bulldogs scored seven points against Kentucky, six against Florida, three against LSU and were shut out by Alabama. Mississippi State needs to become more explosive on offense in 2019 in order to compete against the better teams in its schedule.
The Bulldogs have yet to name a starting quarterback for the season, with the competition ongoing between Keytaon Thompson and Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens. Whoever takes over has to be able to move the team through the air or Mississippi State will run into the same issues as a season ago. The team’s wide receiver group is lacking in playmakers, so it’s definitely a concern heading into the season.
The Bulldogs should still be competitive this year because the defense is supposed to once again be the strength. Mississippi State does have some key players to replace, including a pair of star safeties and edge rusher Montez Sweat. But the linebackers should be very good and Chauncey Rivers will be counted on to be the main player harassing opposing quarterbacks off the edge. The Mississippi State defense must be excellent once again this year.
Key Stats or Trends
The Bulldogs have had a lot of individual talent come through the program in recent years, but the lack of an explosive passing game has been an issue. Without an elite quarterback option, there is concern that trend could continue. Mississippi State has not won more than eight regular season games since 2014, and that may be part of the reason why the “under” is the more popular pick heading into the 2019 campaign.
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